Page 51 of All the Ways You Save Me
I hope you know how much I love you and miss you. I’d do anything for you.
Did Garrett see it? And if he’s Adam, was he shocked? Hurt?
My first thought is that I need to talk to him and explain.
My second is that if he’s Adam, he’slyingto me, and I don’t owe him anything. That realization doesn’t calm the churning in my stomach, though. Because what if he’snotAdam? What if he’s Garrett, and I kissed him last night, and then this morning, he saw this message?
I stare at the words until they blur on the screen. Why do I care if Garrett saw the message, or if he’s hurt by it? Am I starting to doubt that he and Adam are the same person?
Everyone I trust insists it’s impossible—Jason… Josie… I bet if I called my mom, she’d say the same thing. It defies all logic that Adam could have survived the accident in that icy current. The rescue workers said his limbs would have grown heavy in minutes. His brain and organs would have stopped working soonafter that. He wouldn’t have been able to swim to shore, even if he’d known how, or to pull himself onto the steep, rocky bank to crawl to safety. Even my own instincts scream that if Adam were alive, he never would have left me.
So, what if Garrett isn’t Adam? What if he’s just Garrett, a guy I met on the beach? A guy who makes me laugh, who looks out for me, and whose kisses leave me breathless and wanting more? Would I be able to explore this attraction building between us without suspicion or doubt? Would I be able to move on from Adam for good this time?
My mind is still whirling when I go to work at the bar later that afternoon, so I’m grateful for the distraction that thirsty locals offer me. Chloe introduces me to one of the surfers I saw on the beach the other day with Ian. Her name is Anne, and she owns the bookstore on Harbor Boulevard. I chat for a moment with Elijah and Oliver, a young couple who grew up on the island. Elijah asks about my family, but he and Oliver realize they would have been in elementary school and too young to remember me and Josie back then. And then, after going back and forth three times, I finally master the names and drink orders of all the fishermen in the corner. It turns out they like to flirt, but like Chloe said, they’re generally harmless, and they tip well.
I settle into my routine of pouring draft beers, typing orders into the point-of-service system, and hustling food and drinks out to the tables. Working at Hudson’s is so different than teaching, but I find that I enjoy the pace of it and am already starting to feel like I fit in here. And as Chloe and I slide past each other behind the bar, rolling our eyes at something one of the fishermen said, I realize I might be on the verge of making some friends.
The harder I work, the more my tips pile up, and I start tofeel better about the expense of staying in the cottage all summer. I’m pouring another round of beers for Elijah and Oliver and laughing at something Chloe yelled at Henry across the bar when I sense someone sliding onto the barstool in front of me. My smile fades when I look up and find that same creepy guy from yesterday staring at me.
“I’ll be with you in a moment,” I say, trying to keep my voice calm. I take my time filling Elijah’s and Oliver’s glasses and then head to the opposite end of the bar to deliver them. I’m hoping that by the time I’ve added the drinks to their tabs, Chloe will have spotted the guy and taken his order, so I won’t have to.
I search the crowd and find her talking to a group by the pool table, so I sigh and head back over. “What can I get you?”
“I’ll take one of those.” He nods at the tap right in front of him, which means I have to stand there while the glass fills. “So, you’re from Sandy Harbor,” he starts in again.
“Yes,” I say curtly. I need to talk to Chloe about this tap because it’s so slow I think it must be broken.
“And your family? How are they?”
I give him a hard stare. “How do you know my family?”
“The island isn’t that big. People know people.”
I study his face for signs that he’s familiar to me, but nothing comes to mind. I’m guessing he was in his mid-twenties when I lived here. As a teenager, I was more interested in the college guys who came to the island to work as lifeguards. I wouldn’t have paid much attention to a man that much older. But the fact that he seems to have paid attention tome, or at least to my family, sends a shiver up my spine. “Yeah, well, we didn’t know you.”
“You left here awfully abruptly. Packed up, took off, all in less than a week. It was pretty surprising given that you lived here for so long. Did something happen?” He shrugs as if he’s trying to act casual.
I turn my attention to the tap, happy to see his glass is finally full. I slam it down on the bar and don’t bother to clean it up when it sloshes over the side. I hate to leave a mess for Chloe, but I need to get away from this guy. As soon as Chloe comes back from taking an order by the pool table, I’m going to ask her to serve him for the rest of the night.
I hover around the other end of the bar, and there’s a bit of a lull, so I straighten the glasses and organize the receipts, doing my best to ignore the creepy guy. But when I look up, he’s in front of me again, setting his glass on the bar and sliding into the nearest chair.
“You forgot to charge me,” he says, pulling a twenty from his wallet. “And you left right in the middle of our conversation.”
“I don’t want to talk about my family with you. Please leave me alone.”
“Look, I’m not trying to be weird or anything. I just want to catch up. You had a sister, right? What was her name? Josie?”
I stumble backward, my pulse racing.Who is this guy? And how does he know Josie?“I told you to leave me alone.”
His face turns serious. “Listen, Madeline, I really need to talk to?—”
A loud voice cuts in.“She told you to leave her alone.”
Relief comes over me as Garrett steps into my line of vision, towering over the guy, arms crossed. A muscle twitches in his jaw. “And now it’s time for you to leave.”
The man slides off his chair. “Listen, I was just?—”
“You were just harassing this woman.” Garrett grabs the twenty from the guy’s hand and slaps it on the bar in front of me. “She’s going to keep the change, and you’re going to get out. You can let me quietly escort you, or you can let me carry you out and toss you on your ass. Either way, you’re going to be on the sidewalk in about ten seconds.”
